Ichigo Kurosaki
Ichigo Kurosaki is a male Human who possesses Soul Reaper powers, the second Substitute Soul Reaper after Kugo Ginjo and the main protagonist of the Bleach franchise. Ichigo is also the son of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki and the older brother of Karin and Yuzu. He is even Rukia Kuchiki's boyfriend and a well-known hero in both the Soul Society and the World of the Living. Physical Appearance Ichigo's most distinguishing feature is his spiky orange hair, a trait he has been ridiculed for years on end, particularly when he was younger, and earning him the nickname, "Strawberry". He is a fairly tall, lean-built young man with peach skin and brown eyes, as well as sideburns across his face. He has gotten quite muscular since becoming a Soul Reaper, as noted by his sister, Karin Kurosaki. He likes to wear tight clothes and has a tendency to wear shirts patterned with the number 15 because his name is a homonym for the number. In his Soul Reaper form, Ichigo wears the standard Soul Reaper attire; a black shihakusho (a black kosode with a white shitagi underneath) and hakama, a pair of white tabi, a pair of waraji sandals and a white obi. In addition to this, Ichigo has a thick, red rosary-like strap across his torso and around his back to hold his Zanpakuto sheath. It is shaped like a kite with a flat top and bottom. Ichigo's appearance has caused several people, including Jushiro Ukitake, to note a similarity to Kaien Shiba, the former lieutenant of the Thirteenth Squad. Since his Fullbring fused with his Soul Reaper powers after regaining them for a second time, he has four black vertical, tattoo lines on each of his forearms, as well as his chest and ankles that are shaped like an "X". In addition to these changes, his Fullbring also caused black bands with white ends on them to appear around his neck like high collars. Since he regained his powers two years ago, Ichigo now sports a white tattered cloak with dark red markings tied around his waist that goes down to his ankles. This new cloak now goes along with his spiritual attire when using his Shikai, but can disappear when using his Bankai. Personality Well-known for his punk-like attitude, Ichigo is an immensely stubborn, headstrong, determined, short-tempered, strong-willed and impulsive individual. He attempts to maintain a serious, detached and "cool" image, despite claiming not to care about what other people think about him. He generally keeps his face set in a near-permanent scowl, with his eyebrows drawn together. His outspoken, straightforward and hot-headed demeanor is a trait Ichigo himself has acknowledged, and that if somebody picks a fight with him, he cannot help fighting back, making him particularly violent and aggressive. He coldly refers to his teachers as "instructors". However, Ichigo has shown on multiple occasions to be a genuinely compassionate and empathetic individual towards those around him, showing a great deal of concern and care for those who were even his enemies, such as Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Ginjo, and even Aizen after their final battle, as well as giving a Plus flowers and a toy plane, or soothing others when they are upset. When he was a child, Ichigo cared very deeply for his mother, always smiling when he was with her and holding her hand. At a very young age, Ichigo heard his father saying his name means "to protect one thing," which instilled in him a desire to protect his mother. When his sisters were born, he began attending a dojo for the sake of protecting them. Since then, the number of people he wishes to protect has continued to grow by the many he met over these years, causing Ichigo to risk his life to protect both the people close to him and complete strangers. Ichigo is a capable student, ranked 23rd in his year at school, who studies regularly and does not neglect his schoolwork. He works as hard as he does to overcome the misconceptions many have about him based on his hair color and fighting. Ichigo likes reading manga, hunting Hollows and doing homework, but hates fortune telling, horoscopes, feng shui, psychics, and anyone whose trade involves taking money from people for things they cannot see. He has difficulty remembering some people's faces and names that he comes across. Perhaps in tandem with him being a teenage boy, Ichigo can become noticeably uncomfortable and embarrassed by nude or promiscuous women, particularly Yoruichi Shihoin, and Rangiku Matsumoto. At the same time, he can, at times, be very disrespectful to those who are his elders and his superiors, such as Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto whom he refers to as "gramps", as well as Byakuya Kuchiki, and Toshiro Hitsugaya, both of whom he refers to on a first name basis, rather than by their title (though he does respect Yoruichi, Kisuke, Ukitake, Kyoraku, Komamura, and Unohana and addresses them by title). When it comes to fighting, Ichigo has a strong, yet complex sense of honor; he regularly seeks to exact revenge for the actions of his opponent, such as instilling the fear of being murdered in Shrieker and cutting off the right arm of Yammy Riyalgo in retaliation for him ripping Yasutora Sado's right arm apart. He often taunts and belittles his opponents when fighting, sometimes even attacking without warning. Ichigo has a strong desire to win his fights in what he views as a legitimate manner. To this end, he has refused the aid of his inner Hollow and wants to fight with his own strength, even when knowing that it would allow him to win. Ichigo has even shown that he despises those who mistreat their allies in any way, even if they are his own enemies and is disgusted when an individual berates his/her own allies, such as when Yammy calls Ulquiorra Schiffer, Nnoitora Gilga, and Grimmjow Jaegerjaques "trash". He also expresses anger towards those who go as far as attacking their own allies for their own selfish goals, expressing that he cannot forgive those who murder their own comrades. Ichigo has also been known to seek revenge against those who defeat him in combat, such as he did with Grimmjow. Perhaps the greatest example of Ichigo's vengeance is his grudge with Grand Fisher (the Hollow that killed his mother). Ichigo's vendetta with Grand Fisher lasted for decades, well into the boy's teenage years, before Ichigo finally defeated it and gained revenge for Masaki. Ichigo's resolve also plays a large role in his person during combat. Ichigo is a person who wants to protect everyone he can, therefore, he is a person who constantly feels the need to be in control. If ever his sense of control over certain situations is disturbed or compromised, Ichigo will fall into the deep pits of despair and a state of depression. These moments of despair can cause his resolve to waver, causing him to become horribly inefficient when he is in combat, which causes him to lose his composure. However, when he is in a state of feeling in control, his resolve dramatically increases, as he feels he can now protect whoever the object of his affection is, increasing his chances in battle. Even when he is shocked from learning about the secrets from his dark past, Ichigo never wavers and continues into choosing the path of protecting those very close to him. Synopsis Abilities Natural Abilities Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Physically, Ichigo's Human body is in top form. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child, both professionally and by his father. He has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, Ichigo is proficient in counterattacks, takedowns, and body locks. He has repeatedly caught an opponent's weapon strikes with a single hand. He effortlessly defeats multiple bullies and gangsters on a regular basis, and is a better martial artist than Tatsuki Arisawa, who is ranked the second strongest girl in all of Japan despite her fighting with a broken arm. He effortlessly knocked out three lieutenants in rapid succession, while bare-handed, with a single strike each. While he has stopped training, constant attacks from bullies and his father keep his skills fresh. Enhanced Strength: Even when not in his Soul Reaper form, Ichigo is deceptively strong such as kicking a man on concrete ground or punching through a wooden door. Enhanced Speed and Reflexes: Even before learning Shunpo, Ichigo is a very fast and agile fighter. Ichigo has demonstrated great reflexes in battle, able to quickly dodge a strike with no wasted effort and he can instantly counterattack right after. He is able to strike quickly without warning and in rapid succession, giving his opponents little time to react. Enhanced Durability: While only a teenage Human, Ichigo has shown himself to be a highly resilient man, as shown from his ability to safely break free from a binding spell (albeit a low-level one) and withstand an assault from a large Hollow. Advanced Growth Rate: According to both Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate; he grasps the basic control of advanced techniques in days where it would take several years for even the most gifted Soul Reapers. Shortly after gaining Soul Reaper powers and with no previous training, he began learning advanced spiritual energy sensing techniques by sheer instinct. While it takes most Soul Reapers at least 10 years to achieve Bankai, he did so in two days (albeit with the assistance of a special device invented by Urahara which was originally intended for three days). He gains considerable experience in the use of Shunpo while training with Yoruichi, which was done over the same period as his Bankai. Besides his improvements in his Soul Reaper abilities, Ichigo greatly increased the time he could maintain his Hollow mask, from eleven seconds to considerably longer amounts of time. During his first fight with Ulquiorra, he is instantly incapacitated by one Cero blast, even with his Hollow mask (which broke within a second), but only a few hours later, he withstands another Cero from Ulquiorra without undergoing Hollowfication, and can analyze Ulquiorra's movements much better than before, when he had "felt like he was fighting a machine or a statue" and failed to predict and counter his attacks. Keen Intellect: Despite his somewhat punkish attitude, Ichigo is analytical, perceptive, and deductive. Aside from that, Ichigo appears to be able to determine the pattern of his opponent's battle methods and correctly deduce a proper counter-strategy to defeat his opponent's attacks. Indomitable Will: Ichigo has a strong sense of willpower, able to resist the power of his inner hollow and break free of his control, as well as regaining the will to fight, after breaking free from his despair on many occasions. Spiritual Awareness: Since he was a child, Ichigo had an innate ability to clearly see spiritual beings and sense their presence. After becoming a Soul Reaper, his senses have continued to improve with time, learning various advanced sensing techniques, such as using a spirit ribbon to find Yuichi Shibata (in bird form). Even from a considerable distance, he can detect the condition of a being with spiritual power. During his intense fight against Kenpachi Zaraki, he clearly sensed and recognized Chad's energy signature even as it weakened, despite the considerable distance between them. Vast Spiritual Power: Ichigo has been noted on several occasions to have tremendously vast levels of spiritual energy, well beyond most other Soul Reapers. His spiritual power is noted to be heavy, which surprised Renji Abarai. Ichigo constantly gives off reiatsu at the level of an advanced captain-class. Even when worn-out in battle, he can continue fighting effectively while still using Getsuga Tensho or unleashing and maintaining his Bankai. Even at less than half-strength, his spiritual energy is comparable to a captain-level fighter. His energy is strong enough to hold back the Sokyoku, a halberd with the destructive force equivalent to one million Zanpakuto combined, using only his single Zanpakuto. Because Ichigo's spiritual energy constantly being so high even at its base level without him consciously being aware of it, he rarely becomes exhausted in battle, thereby meaning the sheer resilience and amounts of energy Ichigo has is monstrous. His Reiatsu color is light-blue and when visible, takes the shape of a menacing, human skeletal skull that bares a resemblance to his hollow mask. *'Novice Reiatsu Control': Ichigo's spiritual energy is rather difficult for him to control, as he has no formal training in controlling it, and upon Hollowfication, his reiatsu fluctuates wildly, with it being unreadable at its lowest point and at its highest point greater than that of the Quattro Espada Ulquiorra Schiffer. Due to this, and him having far more spiritual energy than his body can consciously contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware beings. He has learned how to harden his spiritual energy and enhance the strength of his attacks, or use it as a barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely. He possesses some skill in channeling his spiritual power, as destroyed the Arbor of the Sokyoku, a seemingly impossible feat which surprised the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, by channeling his spiritual power through his sword into the execution stand. Soul Reaper Powers Master Swordsman Specialist: In terms of fighting style while in his Soul Reaper form, Ichigo relies mainly on swordplay. Aside from his initial training with Kisuke Urahara, he is essentially on a "learn as you go" training regimen; thusly, his skill has developed by fighting rather than formal instruction, becoming even more capable in every fight he has faced. His overall skill in swordsmanship enabled him to become equals with powerful opponents of his caliber, such as Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki. While usually fighting right-handed, Ichigo appears to be ambidextrous, as he is proficient in wielding Zangetsu with his left hand. Shunpo Expert: Though not particularly versed in its various techniques, Ichigo is proficient enough in the technique itself to keep up and even surprise high-level Soul Reapers with his speed. Byakuya Kuchiki, one of the most proficient users of Shunpo in Soul Society, complimented Ichigo's growth mastery of the technique. During his first demonstration of this skill, he knocked out three lieutenants and grabbed his Zanpakuto before any of them hit the ground. Enhanced Strength: When he is in his Soul Reaper body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. He has knocked out three Soul Reaper lieutenants with a single punch each, one of which shattered one of their Zanpakuto at the same time. His strength is great enough to easily stop repeated axe blows from Jidanbo before shattering Jidanbo's axes in a single swing, and hurl Rukia a dozen meters into Renji's arms and send them both skidding several meters more, achieving both feats with a single hand. With a single kick, he can break down and launch a large chunk of a stone wall. Enhanced Durability: Ichigo becomes more durable in his Soul Reaper form. During his last fight with Kugo Ginjo, he withstood a direct hit from the Getsuga Tensho created by his opponent, and the damage was only done to one of his arms and part of his face. He was also able to withstand the Shikai '''form of Ikkaku's '''Hozukimaru,' '''and only received little to no damage from just a cut in the face and a few wounds on his upper body. '''Immense Endurance': When in his Soul Reaper form, Ichigo's endurance is strengthened to the point where he can continue fighting effectively after receiving many injuries, and can survive attacks that would easily kill normal humans. It was stated by Rukia a Soul Reaper's life force is their spiritual power. As such, Ichigo can withstand attacks which would be fatal to most Soul Reapers. Uryu once stated Ichigo was a monster in this regard, and Aizen commented on his ability to continue moving despite his grave injuries. Zanpakuto Zangetsu (Slaying Moon) Shikai: The Shikai form of Ichigo's Zangetsu takes form of a large, elegant cleaver, which curves inward towards the backside of the blade's tip, causing it to resemble a trench knife. It has a long silver hilt, wrapped in black cloth wrappings. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, and has a black blade with a silver edge. A small chain is attached to the base of the hilt. Ichigo has, on more than one occasion, uses Zangetsu's wide blade as a shield from incoming attacks, and deflecting energy blasts. As noted by Yoruichi, Zangetsu is a constant release Zanpakuto, meaning that it never returns to its sealed state, almost always remaining in Shikai. This is because Ichigo's spiritual power is so large and constantly in fluctuation, making him unable to control his Zanpakuto's form very well. When Zangetsu isn't in use, Ichigo can manifest a cloth, likely with the blade's own spiritual energy, and cause it to wrap itself tightly around the blade, acting as an impromptu sheath. Ichigo can then store it by attaching it to the large strap across his back. Whenever Ichigo is ready to use Zangetsu again, simply gripping the hilt will cause the spiritual cloth to unravel and fall off. : Shikai Special Ability: Ichigo's Shikai, is largely used for melee and close-combat, but possesses two known special abilities: *'Getsuga Tensho' (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer): Upon slashing with his blade, Zangetsu absorbs Ichigo's immense spiritual energy and projects it from the blade in the form of a tremendous crescent wave of energy. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing the name of an attack heightens its power compared to its strength when the wielder does not know its name. The Getsuga Tensho is a powerful technique with great force, capable of causing large-scale damage and destruction. While it is currently the only attack Ichigo knows from Zangetsu before learning Meigetsu, Ichigo has used this technique in several different manners, such as striking the ground to create an omni-directional blast to knock away incoming attacks or slashing at the ground to upturn it and crush everything in its path. After regaining his Soul Reaper powers, Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho has been greatly enhanced to the point where it can dispel a thunderstorm and cut Tsukishima's mansion in half, with just a single slash. * Meigetsu (Harvest Moon): A new technique taught to Ichigo by Zangetsu himself in order to help Ichigo become more accustomed to him. By striking the ground, blue energy bursts from directly beneath Ichigo's target, making it a hard technique to dodge. It later became Ichigo's ultimate move due to its' great power. * Concussive Force: A simple swing of his blade can release a tremendous amount of concussive force, something Ichigo refers to as kenatsu (sword pressure), which has enough strength for Kugo, a former Substitute Shinigami himself, to mistake it for a Getsuga Tensho. It seemingly does quite a bit of damage to the Fullbringer, despite the fact that it is simply air pressure. Ichigo first demonstrated this during his training with Urahara, using it to show his "will to cut". Despite his powers not being completely developed then, it still had enough power to cancel out Urahara's own kenatsu. *'Bankai': Tensa Zangetsu '(''Heaven Chain Slaying Moon): Ichigo points his Zanpakuto in a straight direction, using either a single hand or both, with the cloth of his Shikai surrounding his arm and tightening during the activation. His spiritual power surges, with the smoke obscuring his being. Ichigo's Bankai is considered completely out of the ordinary for any Zanpakuto. Unlike most Bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's Bankai compresses his power, causing the sword to shrink down to a pure-black nodaich (Field Sword), curving at the tip with three protrusions coming near the end of the blade on the blunt side, along with a black cross-guard and hilt. The cross-guard has four jagged, protruding prongs that take the shape of a manji (which is the kanji for "ban", meaning "full", as in "full release"). It also has a long black chain which attaches from the base of its hilt that connects to Ichigo's glove, forming a wide loop. Byakuya commented on it by saying that it looked more like a sealed state Zanpakuto than an actual Bankai. The blade itself is durable enough to withstand even the strongest of attacks, making it quite effective in blocking and deflecting incoming attacks, and can even withstand getting crushed by force. The blade is even sharp enough to cut clean through Kugo Ginjo's sword. Additionally, Ichigo's traditional Soul Reaper shihakusho is replaced by a long-sleeved, ankle-length black open coat with a white undershirt and a dark red coloration on the coat's inside. The ends of the coat flare out into three long coattails with black and white ragged endings. The coat is held together by three black "X"'s which appear similar to the ones that appear on his body in his normal state. Similar white markings appear on his forearms and the backs of his gloved-hands in Bankai. The coat signifies how much spiritual energy Ichigo has at any given time and will only take damage proportionate to lost spiritual energy. He still retains the black hakama and white obi, as well as the white tabi and straw waraji sandals while in Bankai. '''Bankai Special Ability: Like his Shikai, Ichigo's Bankai is primarily used for melee combat, but has a unique special ability: *'Power Augmentation': The main benefits of Tensa Zangetsu are focused on the augmentations it grants to Ichigo, allowing him to fight on a level that would normally be impossible for a human such as himself, with a lack of experience, to do so. In Bankai, Ichigo's powers increase by a factor of ten, due to having achieved some level of mastery over his own Zanpakuto. Ichigo is capable of standing toe-to-toe with some of the strongest opponents in his Bankai, including that of Sosuke Aizen. **'Hyper-Speed Combat': Ichigo takes all the power of his Bankai and compresses it into a small, condensed form. Then, he uses the power of the Bankai to perform high-speed combat. His new speed is so great, that it also enhances his Shunpo prowess and allows him to create dozens of afterimages to confuse his opponent. **'Enhanced Getsuga Tensho': Tensa Zangetsu retains the use of Getsuga Tensho and can be used in the same manners, but can be used in an enhanced form. When used in Bankai, these potent blasts are black with a red outline and their path can be controlled, with explosively augmented power and speed. During Byakuya Kuchiki's fight with Ichigo, he refers to this attack as Kuroi Getsuga Tensho (Black Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer). This technique was originally Hollow Ichigo's technique. Ichigo can keep Getsuga Tensho within Tensa Zangetsu to augment his sword swings, or fire it from the tip of the blade as if it were a bullet. ***'Getsuga Chirashi' (Scattering Moon Fang): Ichgio is capable of scattering the Getsuga energy around himself as his opponent for multiple purposes. One, in order to cloak his appearance in battle and to hinder an opponent's eyesight. Another would be to serve as a shield for incoming attacks. It appears that Ichigo can also keep this technique activated for a considerable amount of time, and even use it for offense, which would theoretically allow him to release multiple Getsuga Tensho blasts at a single instant; however, these are not as strong alone as the original technique, but completely surpass the latter when fired together at a single opponent. **'Enhanced Meigetsu': In Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu retains use of Meigetsu. Because of that, Ichigo can forgo stabbing the ground, as declaring the name of the technique causes an energy circle to form directly beneath his foe and then releases a tremendous burst of black and red spiritual energy that has enough strength to send shockwaves for miles around. **'Enhanced Zanjutsu Prowess': In Bankai, Ichigo's swordsmanship capabilities are greatly enhanced to the point where he is able to fight more effectively with a small sword, and uses his speed, strength, and techniques to augment his sword skills to hold equal grounds against more tougher opponents of his caliber such as Byakuya, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Gin, Ginjo, and even Aizen. **'Enhanced Strength': Ichigo's Bankai also allows him to further enhance his natural great strength as shown from how effortlessly he blocked a punch from Yammy Riyalgo, an Espada known primarily for his immense strength. He is strong enough to cut through Yammy's Hierro with relative ease. His bankai-enhanced strength even allowed Ichigo to break through a Hogyoku-enhanced Aizen's level 90 kido spell and block Ginjo's bankai-enhanced Fullbring energy blast, all with just one hand. The sudden boost in strength upon releasing Bankai allows Ichigo to break free of any attack that binds or prevents him from moving. **'Enhanced Spiritual Power': His already vast reiatsu increases grandly and explosively. His spiritual pressure is so intense and rough, as well as thick and heavy, it can suffocate Humans who are in the general vicinity of his released Bankai. Ichigo's spiritual pressure is solid in his Bankai. Initially, when he activated his Bankai, he produced a white aura which shot high into the sky. Ever since Ichigo defeated his inner Hollow and affirmed his place as a Visored, he produces a deep black spiritual energy with a crimson outline, which emanates off of Ichigo's body when his spiritual pressure is exerted, replacing his white aura. After his training in the Dangai, Ichigo's ability to sense spiritual pressure has increased greatly, as he can now sense his sisters blocks away through various buildings and determine their current status. According to Sosuke Aizen, by achieving evolution into a dimension separate from Soul Reapers, both Soul Reapers and Humans have become unable to feel his reiatsu unless he voluntarily lowers his level and allows them to interfere, in the same way a two-dimensional being is unable to interfere with a three-dimensional being. In this same way, he surmises Ichigo is standing in a dimension even higher than the one he is in. After Ichigo regains his Soul Reaper powers for the second time, his Bankai activation reverts back to the way it used to be, shooting a white aura high into the sky (though still emits black reiatsu with a crimson outline when he exerts spiritual energy or uses his Hollow Mask). The released energy can break apart Yukio's chatroom, which is said to be indestructible. While in Bankai, Ichigo's vast spiritual energy turns deep black, with a blue outline. **'Enhanced Bankai Duration': Furthermore, the fact that all of his energy is "compressed" means that usage of his Bankai doesn't expel as much spiritual power as other Bankai from the point of activation; thus allowing him to use Tensa Zangetsu at a much longer duration than any other Bankai users of his level. *'Enhanced Concussive Force': Tensa Zangetsu has extraordinary concussive force behind each of its swings. During his final battle with Aizen, Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu has enough force to shatter a mountain. *'Chiretsu Hogeki' (Earth-Rending Felling Strike): Ichigo spins around with Tensa Zangetsu before launching into mid-air, then strikes the ground and damages his opponents in a swirl of black and crimson Reiatsu. *'Tembu Renjin' (Swift Series of Heaven Dance): In midair, Ichigo slashes repeatedly in all directions with Tensa Zangetsu, damaging all nearby enemies, or use it as a defensive move against incoming enemy attacks. Ichigo first used this technique when he sliced through the billion petal blades of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi without knowing the name. But after he regained his powers for the second time, he eventually learned the name through training and has used the technique for many occasions. *'The Final Getsuga Tensho' (The Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer) is the ultimate technique of Tensa Zangetsu, by initiating it, Ichigo transforms into the Getsuga (Moon Fang) itself. It is referred to as the Final Getsuga Tensho because if Ichigo uses it, he loses all of his Soul Reaper powers. For the duration of the ability, Ichigo's hair becomes waist-length and turns black. Light bluish-gray bandages form around his body, tightly wrapped around his torso, right arm, and face, ending just beneath his eyes. Black flame-like markings spread across his chest and wrap around his left arm, and the remains of a tattered black cloak cover his lower body. In this form, Ichigo's body constantly emits smoky black reiatsu, most of which is focused around his right arm. Being in this form allows Ichigo to use Mugetsu. Once it is used, the transformation dissipates. He will lose consciousness, accompanied by intense pain, with the loss of his Soul Reaper powers following. Any remaining reiatsu stabilizes, and he will awaken sometime later (roughly a month), followed shortly by the loss of his remaining Reiryoku. When Ichigo lost his reiatsu, a tiny portion of it accumulated in a single location inside of him over time, and he began to regain it slightly after a year and a half. In this form, Ichigo's Reiatsu now turns completely black. **'Mugetsu' (Moonless Sky): Ichigo generates a blade of black spiritual energy within his hand, which he proceeds to swing down, causing a tremendous torrent of black spiritual energy to rain down on the battlefield, forming a veil around the targeted area and dealing a massive amount of damage. Hollowfication Hollow Mask: Ichigo's Hollow Mask has the appearance of what could best be described as a menacing skull. The mask is white and has two thick vertical red-black stripes shaped like an "X", covering the most of the front portion of the mask, which are in between the widened eye-holes and covered on the top portion of the jaw. The Hollow mask was originally a sign of Ichigo's possession by the his inner Hollow, but after his training with the Visored, it merely indicates he is utilizing his Hollow powers. To access Hollow Ichigo's power, Ichigo must summon the mask onto his face. He normally does this by placing one of his hands over his face, and concentrating spiritual matter on it in order to manifest the mask (previously, it had appeared on its own before he mastered the Hollow within him), summoning the mask in a "ripping" fashion. With the mask in place, Ichigo's eyes irises become yellow, and he has black sclera and pupils. His voice has a slight Hollow echo to it. With the mask, he gains access to increased physical enhancements. Strangely, though most of the other Visored have been able to shift the position of the mask while apparently still retaining the abilities of their Hollowfied state, as well as using general Hollow abilities, Ichigo has never done either. *'Power Augmentation': While wearing the mask, Ichigo's Hollow powers supplement his Soul Reaper powers, giving him a vast increase in many capabilities. **'Augmented Getsuga Tensho': When Ichigo wears his mask, the power, speed, blast area, force, and size of the Getsuga Tensho '''becomes drastically augmented, to the point of seriously harming a foe. When used with his Bankai and Hollow mask in combination, his '''Getsuga Tensho is stated to be his ultimate attack. Ichigo's tremendous speed lets him to move faster than the Getsuga Tensho itself, allowing him to fire multiple blasts from different directions. Ulquiorra Schiffer believes the Black Getsuga Tensho is Ichigo's strongest attack, comparing it to an Espasa's black Cero, particularly a Cero Oscuras. The black Getsuga Tensho was first displayed by Ichigo's inner Hollow, and initially carried the risk of causing his inner Hollow to surface if used too much. With Ichigo's later control over his inner Hollow, this is no longer a problem. With the use of his new mask, he can fire a Getsuga Tensho powerful enough to send Yammy Riyalgo falling down head first while he was in his much larger and stronger Resurreccion state, and cut a high-rise building in half. **'Enhanced Strength': In Hollow form, Ichigo's strength has been greatly enhanced. In his second fight with Grimmjow, he overpowered Grimmjow's Cero. In his third fight with Grimmjow, he blocked the destructive force of an Espada's strongest Cero, the Gran Rey Cero, fired by Grimmjow. After he unleashed his Hollowfication in his battle with Ulquiorra, he slightly broke his sword with a single slash. He even effortlessly blocked a Cero fired by Ulquiorra. **'Enhanced Speed': While wearing the mask, Ichigo's already formidable speed is greatly enhanced. During his second battle with Grimmjow, Ichigo's speed completely overwhelmed the Espada, who was unable to follow Ichigo's movements, and forced him completely on the defensive with his barrage of attacks. His new speed can even outrun his Getsuga Tensho and move to his opponent before the attack hits. **'Enhanced Durability': While wearing the mask, Ichigo's formidable durability is greatly enhanced as well, able to take far more brutal punishment from his more-powerful adversaries, and still fight onwards. During his third fight with Grimmjow, he is thrown through various buildings and obstructions and emerges unharmed. Ichigo shielded Orihime and Nel from a barrage of Grimmjow's dart bullets, which have enough destructive force to destroy a large building. **'Enhanced Spiritual Power': While wearing the mask, Ichigo's vast spiritual energy drastically increases. Upon witnessing his enormous spiritual energy, one of the Privaron Espada, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, described it as amazing. The Cuattro Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer, stated his Spiritual Pressure was higher than his own (though he also stated it was fluctuating). During Ichigo's fight with Grimmjow, the Tercera Espada, Tier Halibel, note the volume, concentration, and catastrophic nature of his Spiritual Pressure did not seem like that of a Human, but more like that of an Espada. Even Sosuke Aizen complimented his reiatsu, stating he had grown. It has been noted multiple times that with the mask on, his spiritual energy changes into something similar to that of a Hollow, or even an Arrancar (maybe Espada by several high-ranking Arrancar). Ichigo can use the combined spiritual energy released in his Bankai activation and Hollowfication to launch himself in the air. *'Mask Regeneration': If Ichigo has enough spiritual power, he can repair small amounts of damage inflicted upon his mask. *'Hollow Combat': When Ichigo fights with his mask on, his fighting style becomes more instinctive than practiced. The Hollow mask makes Ichigo more ruthless, akin to the battle style of Hollow Ichigo. Throughout the duration of the Hollowfication, Ichigo displays less concern for injuries to his person, even ignoring grievous wounds to continue fighting. Ulquiorra Schiffer stated Ichigo in this form resembles an Arrancar, and his movements are similar to theirs'. *'Increased Mask Duration': After subjugating his inner Hollow, Ichigo can use his Hollow mask while retaining his personality, but could originally only wear it for four seconds at a time. After training with the Visored, the limit increases to eleven seconds. His time limit and Hollow powers greatly increase during his third battle with Grimmjow. The reasons behind Ichigo now being capable of fighting entire battles with his mask currently remain unknown. Grimmjow speculated Ichigo's improvements came from a subconscious need. It is unknown if the time limit of his new mask has changed, though the mask began deteriorating immediately after he fired a Getsuga Tensho at Sosuke Aizen with it on. Once he gained resolve to fight Aizen, the mask was used much longer, but began dispersing again once he lost his composure. *'Mask Re-Summon': He can call his mask a second time after it shatters. When used for the first time, the mask immediately broke apart. Later, this is no longer a problem. In his first fight with Ulquiorra, though unseen, it was used to help defend against Ulquiorra's Cero (though the mask was destroyed), and again during his most recent confrontation with him, after he enters his released form. Once Ichigo's mask changed in his battle with Yammy Riyalgo, he noticed his mask felt different, as if it was heavier, and he was unable to re-summon it for a brief period of time. Tensa Zangetsu states the oddities of the new mask come from Ichigo's fear of the Hollow form he took to defeat Ulquiorra Schiffer, where his sanity was overwhelmed by its power, and he cannot Hollowfy properly. 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